Writer of Brad Pitt's Chanel Ads Says He's Happy They Got Parodied

After viewing Brad Pitt's befuddling 30-second monologue that Chanel called a "perfume commercial," all any of us have been trying to do is figure out how exactly that...happened.

Brad Pitt, who took home a $7 million paycheck for the gig, didn't offer much help, telling Access Hollywood “I kind of liked it… I respect what they (Chanel) do. They do some really quality things," and that the parodies, which he supposedly hadn't seen, were "absolutely fair play."

SNL spoof-er Taran Killam said the commercial's director, Joe Wright, told him that even he "didn't actually know what they were about either."

So, who's to blame? Probably Glenn O'Brien, who wrote the dialogue (yes, there was actually a script for it). And now, finally, we hear from him. Speaking to The Cut, O'Brien made it clear that he had no regrets.

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On filming the commercial he said:

We shot it in London, and it was directed by Joe Wright, who is fantastic, so for me it was not only a thrill to have Brad Pitt saying words I wrote, but also to work with Joe. Brad’s got a good sense of humor. Whenever you do a commercial with a script, you do a lot of takes, and Brad would do takes imitating Marlon Brando or Dennis Hopper.

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Oh, and those parodies? He's totally flattered. In fact, getting parodied is basically his goal in life:

I’ve done quite a few ads that have been parodied, and you always know you’ve really got it made when that happens. I did this campaign for Calvin Klein with Steven Meisel years ago that was considered to be very risqué, and President Clinton spoke out against it, but then we were parodied by Beavis and Butt-Head. And to me, that was the highest compliment.

We guess, in a way, a parody does give more exposure to a brand. I don't remember any other Chanel No.5 ads getting talked about this much. So, good job, then?

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It's confirmed: Brad Pitt is so pretty he's actually been tapped to be the face of a woman's perfume. And not just any perfume, mind you, the perfume: Chanel No. 5.
When rumors began swirling yesterday about Pitt's new gig at Chanel, we were skeptical. I mean, the dude is following in the footsteps of Marilyn Monroe, Nicole Kidman and Audrey Tautou. Safe to say, he doesn't exactly fit the bill. But according to Paris Vogue, Chanel has confirmed in a press release today that he is indeed the new face of the perfume. That means he's the first male face of the iconic fragrance.

Brad Pitt's Chanel No. 5 commercial left us rather speechless.
We weren't quite sure what to make of the intensely-acted 30 second spot, but YouTube commenters, known, of course, for being kind and judicious, had a lot to say about it. There's some mean stuff, sure, but there are also some hilarious Fight Club references.
A sampling:

Remember back in May when Chanel announced that Brad Pitt would be the first-ever male face of Chanel No. 5? So, that was real, and we're going to see what the ad looks like in less than two weeks.
A bit more about what you can expect from the campaign--and Pitt's paycheck.